Surprising Parallels
by Master Maple
Summary: Mako strikes an unexpected chord with the Chief during a hair-raising lecture. Mom/Boss Detective/Son


Mako walked into the Republic City Police Station with his head hung low, feeling like a condemned man awaiting his execution. He gave a slightly dejected nod to the officer at the front door and scuttled to his work desk, trying to seem inconspicuous in the futile hope that the Chief would overlook his presence. That would be difficult, he reflected, with every old-timer who saw him either cracking up or giving him looks of pity over their mugs of tea.

He sat and began to do some light paperwork, awaiting the call into Chief Beifong's office, but the office remained quiet, and as he worked he felt the fragile hope that maybe his partner hadn't passed on his incident report to the Chief's desk. Tzin had said he was going drinking with his buddies last night after all. And he was late into work today. Maybe he'd gotten drunk enough to forget to file the report.

Mako's hopes were crushed like a butterfly under a boot heel as Officer Tzin swaggered into the office, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. He carried a cup of tea in each hand and sat down next to Mako, grinning broadly.

"Ready for your first roasting?" He chirped, as Mako glanced over and felt an indescribable yearning to rearrange Tzin's spotless dental work. Mako just took the tea Tzin offered and muttered something that sounded vaguely like a thank-you. Tzin smiled all the wider and placed a hand on Mako's shoulder. "Aw, cheer up kid. Every rookie makes mistakes, and every rookie has suffered the Chief's wrath for them. Just expect to be working Traffic Enforcement for a month or two."

"Would you shut up?" snapped Mako. "I've had a pretty rough night. I don't need you making my morning just as bad."

Tzin actually had the nerve to look wounded. "Jeez, kid, I was just playing! You'll come through fine, the Chief's pretty reasonable with first-time screw-ups." The smile returned to his face, and he seemed to had a look of unbridled glee as he continued. "But I've gone through the same thing that you're about to go through, so I hope you'll excuse me and the other old-timers enjoying the spectacle. Matter of fact, I even brought popcorn." He began to rummage through his bag as Mako took a sip of his tea and spat it out in disgust at the slightly salty taste. "You should have been a comedian," he spat, his tone scathing, but Tzin just laughed.

Mako was about to reply with a bit of choice vocabulary from his days on the streets when Chief Lin Beifong's voice cut through the dull chatter of the station with the force and volume of a hurricane.

"OFFICER MAKO, I WANT YOU IN MY OFFICE RIGHT THIS SECOND!" she thundered, and Mako could have sworn the windows rattled at the sound of her. Even Tzin seemed slightly taken aback.

"Wow, I haven't heard the Chief that ticked off in a while. You must be really in for it," he said, grabbing a handful of popcorn and leaning back in his seat. "Okay, let's start the betting, boys. How many months on probation?"

"You're such an ass." Mako grumbled, hoping he didn't sound as scared as he felt. "And the tea sucked, too!" He shouted over his shoulder as he walked with a heavy heart toward the Chief's office.

He knocked on the doorframe and stepped inside, closing the door behind him as Lin sat at her desk with a look of rage so intense Mako thought it was a wonder she didn't burn a hole through the incident report she was reading. She didn't look up as Mako entered, just sharply gestured for Mako to sit as she scanned the last few lines. After what seemed like an hour she set the paperwork aside and shifted her blazing eyes to Mako. He didn't even have time to open his mouth to speak before she launched into a rant.

"What kind of atrocity do you call that 'arrest' you made last night?!" she roared, thumping her fist into her steel desk with such force that the metal was dented by the blow. She growled in irritation and straightened out the surface with one quick gesture and turned the full force of her attention back to Mako. "Three broken ribs, multiple cuts and bruises and minor burns on the scalp dealt out in the process of arresting _one _rowdy drunk? I've put down _riots _and caused fewer injuries than that! The press will be breathing down my neck the moment this goes public! They'll cause an uproar if I don't give them your head on a platter, and frankly I'm inclined to save myself the trouble and give them what they want!"

In the slightly reflective surface of Lin's desk Mako saw a frantic display of betting amongst the veteran cops gleefully watching the show. Tzin was positively roaring with laughter, and the sound of his mirth could be dimly heard in the background as Mako's ears rang from the force of the Chief's lecture.

Lin's chair squeaked slightly as she leaned forward and looked Mako right in the eyes. "So would you kindly tell me, Mako, exactly why I shouldn't toss you to those baying dogs in the media to be drummed out of the force. Explain the reasons behind one of the worst cases of excessive force I have seen in all my years working with this department! I'm sure it'll be a hoot!"

Mako instinctively set his jaw as his stubborn side came out.

"You want a reason, Chief! Bolin was being an idiot, as usual!" He snapped, in spite of himself.

Lin narrowed her eyes. "Explain." She said, her voice suddenly dangerously quiet. Mako gulped in apprehension, but continued.

"I told him to stay home and grab an early dinner with me before I went out on patrol, and instead I found him at a bar he goes to halfway across the city, completely drunk, dancing up on the counter with a complete stranger! I had to literally grab him by the collar, pry his 'new friend' away from him, and drag him home!" He growled in frustration at the memory of hauling Bolin to his car and watching him throw up all over the backseat.

"Bo's almost like a little kid sometimes, and it's cool mostly, but he can be so immature about this kind of stuff! It's like I'm the only sane branch of the family tree, and when I was mopping his vomit off the backseat he started slurring that I was being a 'stick in the mud.' Spirits forbid that I behave like an adult, or act with a little bit of maturity! So when that drunk elbowed me in the gut and started running, I was in a foul mood when I caught up to him. Then, he vomited all over my uniform, and well, my temper did the rest from there, I guess. Does that answer your question, Chief?"

Mako took a deep breath and looked up to see Lin's reaction. He nearly did a double take when he saw that the scowl had dropped from her face as she seemed to be lost in thought.

"Yes, actually." She said, returning to the present. "Yeah, I remember my sister would pull that kind of stuff." She sighed, and Mako was floored when the ghost of a smile crossed her lips.

"Alright, Mako, I see where you're coming from." She said, voice unexpectedly soft. Then a bit of her previous sternness reappeared. "But bad day or no bad day, you are an officer of the law and are expected to behave accordingly, regardless of the circumstances. As such, I'm still going to have to take disciplinary action." Mako braced for whatever grim sentence the Chief had come up with.

"Two months' probation, and working Traffic for the next three weeks, and desk work for two weeks after that."

Mako sat there, stunned at the lightness of his sentence. It took him a moment to register that Lin was still speaking to him.

"That will be all, Mako." She said, pushing the report aside. Mako got up to leave. "Oh, and kid?" A hint of a smile was on Lin's face again. "Don't be too mad at Bolin. You could've gotten someone much worse for a younger sibling." Mako just nodded and stumbled out of her office while Tzin and his gang stared at him, shocked into silence.

Lin stepped out to see why the office had gone silent, and her usual stern expression returned to her face. "Well?" She snapped. "What are you standing around for? Get back to work!" At this command the station once more sprang to life, and Lin returned to her office, quietly keeping an eye on the young firebender who reminded her so much of her younger days.


End file.
